It’s that difficult 4th album…and this time it did feel and sound like it…

Although the band members may not have been getting on so well at this time that really didn’t affect in any way their songwriting output, they were writing…a lot. They had set themselves up in a purpose built rehearsal, recording and storage facility in North London that was officially The Far Out Recording Company but we all referred to as Far Out Central. Their equipment was permanently set up in the live room so they could come to “work” everyday, rehearse and write. There was a storage room for equipment and flight cases and where myself and Mr Smith could work if we needed and an office for der-management. Should inspiration strike there was a small recording facility set up on the mezzanine floor on top of the office and storage area so they could get stuff down on tape. And write they did.

“Construction…” featured 13 songs and the singles from it held another 11 originals so there was no shortage of new material. This time they returned to Pat Collier to handle production duties. “Construction…”’s main problem is that a bunch of songs from that fertile period of songwriting that should have made the album ended up as B-sides to singles and a bunch of songs that should have been B-sides to singles made the album ! If you are familiar with this record tell me, would replacing “I Wish Them All Dead”, and “Cabin Fever” with, say, “I Think I Must've Had Something Really Useful To Say” and “Room 512, All The News That's Fit To Print” have made this album worse ?

That’s not to say that “Construction…” is a bad record, it could just have been better. “On The Ropes” is an absolute TWS classic that has to been seen to be believed at a Wonder Stuff show to this day. Although they were known as an Indie-Pop/Fiddly Celtic group the music that the band were listening to was not that. Faith No More, Washington hardcore bands, Pixies, dEUS and other American alt.rock (for want of a better description) were all on heavy rotation at Far Out Central and on tour busses and that harder influence showed itself in “On The Ropes” (all that influence would finally be recognised when Miles formed Vent 414). Live “On The Ropes” is a sea of heaving sweaty audience bodies and much audience participation on the main riff.

“Sing The Absurd” is utterly beautiful and alongside “Hot Love Now”, “Swell”, “Storm Drain” and “Full Of Life (Happy Now)” make up the backbone of a really good album. “A Great Drinker” lays bare Miles’ Bukowski obsession of the time but may have been better suited as a B-side, “Your Big Assed Mother” is a little bombastic for my liking and I’ve never been brave enough to ask who it was about. I always liked “Change Every Light Bulb” but after the problems that one caused on a UK tour some years later let’s leave the praise there, other than to praise the intro by the Reverend Hellacious Boom-Boom.

Bizarrely the first thing that happened after “Construction…” was released was the band toured Europe, 3 weeks around the mainland with the wonderful Gigolo Aunts in support. During December ’93 and February ’94 a US tour was completed and then the “Idiot Manoeuvres UK Tour” kicked off in Manchester on 8th March ’94, 6 weeks around the leisure centres and theatres of the UK culminating in 2 nights at Brixton Academy on April 21st and 22nd. Relations within the band had maybe always been fractious, these were talented, driven people with strongly held ideas, but during the US and UK tours things got more so. Miles was increasingly isolated/isolating himself from the rest of the band and on the 4th of April ’94 management were summonsed and a band meeting was held in their dressing room at Gloucester Leisure Centre. The crew were told later that day that this UK tour would be finished but all future touring commitments were cancelled, including the forthcoming Japanese & Australian tours (yah-boo-hiss went the crew). Some of us were told the band would be splitting as soon as the tour finished but were sworn to secrecy about that.

It was over, maybe not with a bang but they went out at the top, “Construction…” reached #4 in the album charts and spawned 3 top 30 singles "On the Ropes” #10, "Full Of Life (Happy Now)" #29 and “Hot Love Now" #19. The “Idiot Manoeuvres UK Tour” was a success, almost entirely sold out as I recall, and once again goes to prove that despite the relationships of the people on stage (and it could be said that various members of the band truly disliked each other at this point) audiences very rarely notice anything wrong.

The Wonder Stuff bowed out at a headlining festival performance at the Phoenix Festival on 15th July 1994, Miles’ parting shot to the crowd being “Ever get the feeling you’ve been treated” (a paraphrase of Johnny Rotten at the final Sex Pistols gig at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom)…little did we know at the time, this death was not the end…

Sing The Absurd - https://youtu.be/EIo9AnLU6Eo?si=MnhHUATr2RVgd5MR